(a) The department shall perform all functions incident to the collection of the local charges of a local jurisdiction or local agency and shall collect and administer the local charges in the manner prescribed for the collection of the prepaid MTS surcharge in the Prepaid Mobile Telephony Services Surcharge Collection Act (Part 21 (commencing with Section 42001)), as that law read on January 1, 2017, subject to the limitations set forth in Section 42105. For purposes of this part, the references in the Fee Collection Procedures Law to “fee” shall include the local charge imposed by this part, and references to “feepayer” shall include a person required to pay the local charge imposed by this part, which includes the seller.

(b) All local charges collected by the department shall be deposited in the Local Charges for Prepaid Mobile Telephony Services Fund which is hereby created in the State Treasury, and shall be held in trust for the local taxing jurisdiction, and shall not be used for any other purpose. Local charges shall consist of all taxes, charges, interest, penalties, and other amounts collected and paid to the department, less payments for refunds and reimbursement to the department for expenses incurred in the administration and collection of the local charges. The department shall transmit the funds to the local jurisdictions periodically as promptly as feasible. The transmittals required under this section shall be made at least once in each calendar quarter. The department shall furnish a quarterly statement indicating the amounts paid and withheld for expenses of the department and subject to subdivision (e) of Section 42020.

(c) The department shall prescribe and adopt rules and regulations as may be necessary or desirable for the administration and collection of local charges and the distribution of the local charges collected.

(d) The department’s audit duties under this part shall be limited to verification that the seller complied with this part.

(e) Subject to the confidentiality requirements of Sections 7284.6, 7284.7, and 19542, the department shall make available to a requesting local jurisdiction or local agency any information that is reasonably available to the department regarding the proper collection and remittance of a local charge of the local jurisdiction or local agency by a seller, including a direct seller.

(f) The department may contract with a third party for purposes of this part, solely in connection with the following department duties:

(1) To allocate and transmit collected local charges in the Local Charges for Prepaid Mobile Telephony Services Fund pursuant to subdivision (b) to the appropriate local jurisdictions.

(2) To audit proper collection and remittance of the local charge pursuant to this part.

(3) To respond to requests from sellers, consumers, boards, and others regarding issues pertaining to local charges that are within the scope of the department’s duties.

(g) For purposes of this part, any third-party contract under subdivision (f) shall be subject to the following limitations:

(1) Any third party shall, to the same extent as the department, be subject to subdivision (b) of Section 55381, relating to unlawful disclosures.

(2) A third-party contract shall not provide, in whole or in part, in any manner a contingent fee arrangement as payment for services rendered. For purposes of this section, “contingent fee” includes, but is not limited to, a fee that is based on a percentage of the tax liability reported on a return, a fee that is based on a percentage of the taxes owed, or a fee that depends on the specific tax result attained.

(h) Except for sharing of information pursuant to subdivision (e), this section does not apply to direct sellers.

(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 642, Sec. 3. (SB 344) Effective January 1, 2020. Repealed as of January 1, 2021, pursuant to Section 42111.)